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Yesterday, Netgear announced a new top of the range Wi-Fi 6 access point, choosing to go down a different path than competing brands, which could be quite useful for many users.
While it is common for many cloud-managed access points to offer mesh Wi-Fi, the are not many, if any, that have a tri-band radio. If you then pair this up with other tri-band WAX630 access points, you will be able to establish a dedicated wireless backhaul, offering a significant improvement in speeds compared to dual-band access points.
Compatible Access Points
The WAX630 works with many other access points within the Netgear range, so you have a lot of customisation options. Presumably, if you use mesh with a dual-band AP, you will incur signal loss as usual with the 5Ghz channel having to share bandwidth.
The WAX630 is compatible with WAC510, WAC564, WAX610, WAX610Y, WAX620 Insight Managed Access Points
4×4 radios but no 160Mhz
It has an impressive spec too, each radio is 4×4 but the 5Ghz channels are limited to 80Mhz so client speeds will cap out at 1200Mbps, but the 4×4 wireless backhaul should go to 2400Mbps.
The access point then has two ethernet ports, one 2.5Gbps Power-over-Ethernet port with an additional gigabit port.
Price and Availability
I think the access point is reasonably priced too, at £289.99. While that is certainly not cheap, it is cheaper per device than the Orbi Pro SXK80. You obviously lose out on the router functionality and additional ethernet ports but I think most businesses or demanding home users would prefer the customisability of access points.
Price vs Competing Options
I currently use the Zyxel NWA210AX, which typically costs around £240, so a little cheaper, it only has dual 4×4 5GHz + 2×2 2.4GHz MU-MIMO radios, but it can do 160Mhz.
As much as I go on about 160Mhz, it isn’t the most practical of solutions. Whereas, the tri-band mesh functionality of the WAX630 should offer real-world benefits for most small to medium businesses that haven’t had their whole property wired up for access points.
Full Press Release
Netgear has announced the availability of the fourth member in its Insight Managed WiFi 6 Access Points, the Insight™ Managed WiFi 6 AX6000 Tri-band Multi-gig Access Point (WAX630), designed to provide the ultimate WiFi performance for small and medium businesses.
This new tri-band access point brings next-generation premium WiFi 6 (802.11ax) performance to small and medium businesses (SMBs), delivering up to 40% higher[1] speeds to each connected device as compared to WiFi 5 (802.11ac). WAX630 interoperates with other NETGEAR Insight Managed Access Points, including the existing WiFi 5 (WAC510, WAC540) and WiFi 6 (WAX610, WAX610Y, WAX620) models. Additionally, WAX630 allows access points to be connected to each other using Instant Mesh (supported on WAC540, WAX610, WAX610Y) a NETGEAR wireless backhaul technology. The WAX 630 comes equipped with two Ethernet ports – one Gigabit Ethernet port and a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE++) 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port.
WAX630 is ideally suited for environments with open spaces where there is a need to provide WiFi connectivity to a large number of concurrent users. Schools, community colleges, mid-sized manufacturing facilities, warehouses and office premises of mid-sized companies will each find value in the capabilities of this new Insight Managed WiFi 6 Tri-band Multi-gig Access Point. This powerful access point interoperates with existing NETGEAR WiFi 5 and WiFi 6 Access Points, thus protecting a customer’s investment in NETGEAR technology while allowing them to maximize the performance of their WiFi network.
WAX630 also supports 12-streams (4×4 on each band) with each unit capable of delivering up to 6.0 Gbps of aggregate data throughput with all three bands supporting WiFi 6. Specifically designed for high-density deployments, the industry unique tri-band solution enables either one dedicated band for wireless backhaul with two front-haul bands for client devices, or a 2.5GbE wired backhaul with three front-haul bands for client device connection – thus making WAX630 amongst the most versatile and high-performance access points in the industry.
NETGEAR Insight enables management of WAX630 and other devices from the Insight App or a connected browser. With Insight, resellers and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) can remotely set up, monitor and maintain a customer’s network without requiring a technician to go on-site.
“Whether it be better overall throughput or faster speeds for individually connected devices, SMBs are always demanding more from their WiFi network. The WAX630 delivers industry leading network performance based on its unique WiFi 6 12-stream tri-band architecture. Together with WAX610 and WAX620, a common Insight management platform, the new WAX630 offers SMB customers an unprecedented array of price-performance options, each with the same rich feature set, security and quality,” said Doug Cheung, senior product line manager of SMB Wireless at NETGEAR.
The WAX630 provides robust enterprise-grade WiFi network security with WPA3 128-bit to 192-bit encryption and the capability to set up VLANs and up to sixteen different SSIDs. With the tri-band WiFi 6 technology of the WAX630, businesses can now be confident that they are making an investment in the ultimate WiFi solution.
Availability
The NETGEAR® Insight™ Managed WiFi 6 AX6000 Tri-band Multi-gig Access Point is available and shipping today in North America and EMEA.
- United Kingdom –– WAX630-100EUS – MSRP: £289.99
- North America ––
- WAX630-100NAS – MSRP; $329.99
- WAX630PA (with Power Adapter) – MSRP: $339.99
- Continental Europe –– WAX630-100EUS – MSRP: €329.99
I am James, a UK-based tech enthusiast and the Editor and Owner of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Passionate about all things technology, my expertise spans from computers and networking to mobile, wearables, and smart home devices.
As a fitness fanatic who loves running and cycling, I also have a keen interest in fitness-related technology, and I take every opportunity to cover this niche on my blog. My diverse interests allow me to bring a unique perspective to tech blogging, merging lifestyle, fitness, and the latest tech trends.
In my academic pursuits, I earned a BSc in Information Systems Design from UCLAN, before advancing my learning with a Master’s Degree in Computing. This advanced study also included Cisco CCNA accreditation, further demonstrating my commitment to understanding and staying ahead of the technology curve.
I’m proud to share that Vuelio has consistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of the top technology blogs in the UK. With my dedication to technology and drive to share my insights, I aim to continue providing my readers with engaging and informative content.
